How to make a disability discrimination claim against a school (SEND4)
If a school has treated your disabled child unfairly because of their disability, or hasn’t made reasonable adjustments, you can take a claim to the SEND Tribunal. The deadline is strict: 6 months from what happened. These notes explain which form to use, how to set out what the school did, and what the tribunal can and can’t do.
- Deadline
- 6 months from the date of the discrimination you’re complaining about
- Time to complete
- Allow a few hours; gather dates, evidence and any correspondence first
- Who it’s for
- A parent claiming for their child (SEND4A), or a young person aged 16 or over claiming for themselves (SEND4B), about disability discrimination by a school in England under the Equality Act 2010.
- Where it applies
- England
The SEND tribunal only covers England. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland each have their own appeal route.
GOV.UK is the official source and is always the most up to date. These copies are provided for convenience.
We’ve put the parts that decide the claim first. The question numbers tell you where each one sits on the form.
Which form applies to you: SEND4A or SEND4B
There are two versions of the same claim. SEND4A is for a parent (or someone with parental responsibility, or who the child lives with) claiming for a child who hasn’t yet reached school leaving age. SEND4B is for a young person who is over compulsory school age, claiming for themselves - school leaving age is the last Friday in June in the academic year the child turns 16.
SEND4A - a parent makes the claim
- What they’re really asking
- Whether you have parental responsibility for, or live with, a child who is still of compulsory school age.
- How to answer it well
- Use SEND4A if you’re the parent or carer and your child hasn’t reached school leaving age. You confirm your relationship to the child, give the child’s details, and bring the claim on their behalf. If two parents are claiming together it can be a joint claim and both sign.
- Common mistake
- Filling in the young person’s form (SEND4B) when the child is still of compulsory school age, or the reverse.
SEND4B - the young person (16 or over) makes the claim
- What they’re really asking
- Whether you’re now over compulsory school age and able to claim for yourself.
- How to answer it well
- Use SEND4B if you’re over compulsory school age. You’re the claimant: you sign the declaration yourself, and confirm you filled the form in or agree with what was written for you. A parent or adviser can still help, and you can name a representative.
- Common mistake
- Assuming a parent must always bring the claim - once a young person is over compulsory school age, the claim is theirs to make on SEND4B.
Is this the right route? Discrimination, EHCP appeal, and exclusions
A SEND4 claim is about a school discriminating against a disabled child under the Equality Act 2010. It’s a different route from appealing a decision about an EHCP, and from challenging a permanent exclusion. Using the right route from the start avoids losing time you can’t get back.
Discrimination claim vs an EHCP appeal
- What they’re really asking
- Whether your complaint is about how the school treated your child (discrimination), or about the LA’s decision on an EHCP (its existence, contents or who pays).
- How to answer it well
- A SEND4 claim is about wrongful acts by the school: unfavourable treatment, harassment, or a failure to make reasonable adjustments. An EHCP appeal is about the local authority’s decision on the plan and goes on the SEND35 form. Where both apply, you can run both at the same SEND Tribunal at once, but each goes on its own form.
- Common mistake
- Putting an EHCP complaint on a discrimination form, or the reverse, which can mean your real issue is never properly heard.
Discrimination claim vs a permanent exclusion
- What they’re really asking
- Whether you’re asking the tribunal to put your child back in school after a permanent exclusion.
- How to answer it well
- SEND4A and SEND4B aren’t the route to reverse a permanent exclusion - the form even asks you to confirm you’re not asking for reinstatement after a permanent exclusion. A discrimination claim linked to a permanent exclusion uses a different form (SEND26A for a parent, SEND26B for a young person). SEND4 can still be used for other discrimination, including fixed-term exclusions and being kept off trips or activities.
- Common mistake
- Trying to use SEND4 to get a permanently excluded child reinstated - the eligibility check at the start of the form blocks this.
School settings only - other settings go to the county court
- What they’re really asking
- Whether the setting is a school the SEND Tribunal can hear claims about.
- How to answer it well
- The SEND Tribunal hears school claims: maintained schools, academies and free schools, and independent (private) schools. Discrimination by a private nursery, an FE college, or a local authority acting as a service provider is dealt with by the county court instead, where compensation can be claimed. If you’re unsure of the setting, the assistant can help you check before you file.
- Common mistake
- Filing a SEND Tribunal claim about a setting it has no power over, so the claim is rejected and time is lost.
The 6-month deadline
You must send your claim to the tribunal within 6 months of the discrimination taking place. This deadline is treated strictly, so work it out from the act you’re complaining about and file early rather than waiting.
Q26 (SEND4A) / Q18 (SEND4B) - Date or most recent date of discrimination
- What they’re really asking
- When the discrimination happened, so the tribunal can check you’re within the 6-month time limit. The tribunal won’t register the claim without this date.
- How to answer it well
- Give the date of the act you’re complaining about. If it’s a series of linked acts that are still going on, the 6 months usually runs from the most recent one, which can keep earlier linked acts in range. Going through the school’s own complaints procedure first doesn’t pause the 6 months, so don’t let an internal complaint use up your time.
- Common mistake
- Waiting to finish a school complaint or for "things to settle down" and only then counting the 6 months - the clock runs from the discrimination, not from when the complaint ends.
Show the wording on the form
Q26 on SEND4A, page 3 and Q18 on SEND4B, page 2
Date or most recent date of discrimination
Q37 (SEND4A) / Q26 (SEND4B) - If your claim is late
- What they’re really asking
- Why a claim sent after 6 months should still be accepted.
- How to answer it well
- If you’re past 6 months, explain on the form why it’s late and why it’s important the tribunal still accepts it. Send it in anyway rather than assuming it’s too late, but don’t rely on this: a late claim may not be accepted, so the safest course is always to file within the 6 months.
- Common mistake
- Treating a late claim as guaranteed to be accepted - it’s at risk, so file in time wherever you possibly can.
Show the wording on the form
Q37 on SEND4A, page 7 and Q26 on SEND4B, page 6
If your claim is late, explain why and why it is important that it should be accepted
Stuck on a question? The assistant can help you word it for your child.
Ask the assistantSetting out what happened and which type of discrimination
The heart of the claim is a clear, dated account of what the school did and why it was unlawful. The Equality Act 2010 sets out several types of discrimination; you don’t have to use the legal labels perfectly, but it helps to know which one fits. The form has separate boxes for different kinds of treatment, plus a long "more detail" box to tell the whole story.
The types of disability discrimination
- What they’re really asking
- Which kind of unlawful treatment your child experienced under the Equality Act 2010.
- How to answer it well
- The main types are: direct discrimination (treated worse because of the disability itself); discrimination arising from disability (treated unfavourably because of something connected to the disability, such as disability-related behaviour or absence - the most common school claim); indirect discrimination (a policy that disadvantages disabled pupils); failure to make reasonable adjustments; harassment (unwanted conduct linked to disability); and victimisation (being punished for complaining). Pick the ones that fit and give an example of each.
- Common mistake
- Worrying about getting the legal label exactly right instead of describing clearly what was done and how it was connected to the disability.
The claim-detail boxes (exclusions, trips, unfavourable treatment)
- What they’re really asking
- The specific incidents: any fixed-term exclusions, any trips or activities your child was left out of, and any other unfavourable treatment, with dates.
- How to answer it well
- Use the right box for each. For a fixed-term exclusion, give the start and end dates and the reason the school gave. For a trip or activity, describe it with the date and when the decision was made. For other unfavourable treatment, give dates as precisely as you can. Keep each entry factual: what happened, when, who was involved.
- Common mistake
- Writing one general paragraph of grievance instead of dated, specific incidents the tribunal can pin down.
Q35 (SEND4A) / Q24 (SEND4B) - More detail about your claim
- What they’re really asking
- The full story in your own words: what happened, who was involved, when, why it was connected to the disability, and what the school should have done instead.
- How to answer it well
- This is the big free-text box. Tell it in order, link each act to the disability ("because of something arising from his autism"), and name the documents that back it up. Stick to facts and dates rather than emotion, and say what difference the treatment made to your child’s education and wellbeing.
- Common mistake
- Leaving this box thin - it’s where you join the incidents into one clear account of unlawful treatment.
Show the wording on the form
Q35 on SEND4A, page 6 and Q24 on SEND4B, page 5
More detail about your claim
Q36 (SEND4A) / Q25 (SEND4B) - Your child’s disability
- What they’re really asking
- That your child is disabled within the Equality Act meaning, and how the disability affects daily life.
- How to answer it well
- Describe the day-to-day effect of the disability, not just the label. The Act covers a physical or mental impairment with a substantial and long-term (12 months or more) adverse effect on normal day-to-day activities. A formal diagnosis helps but isn’t essential; attach any medical or professional evidence and any EHCP. Also show the school knew, or should have known, about the disability.
- Common mistake
- Relying on the diagnosis alone - explain the substantial, long-term effect on everyday life, and show the school knew.
Show the wording on the form
Q36 on SEND4A, page 7
Describe your child's disability and how it affects them on a day-to-day basis
Q25 on SEND4B, page 6
Describe your disability and how it affects you on a day-to-day basis
The reasonable-adjustments duty
Schools have a duty to make reasonable adjustments so disabled pupils aren’t put at a substantial disadvantage compared with their peers. It’s an anticipatory duty: the school should plan ahead, not wait for a problem. A failure to make a reasonable adjustment is itself a type of discrimination, and the form has its own box for it.
Q30 (SEND4A) / Q22 (SEND4B) - Failure to make reasonable adjustments
- What they’re really asking
- The disadvantage your child faced, the adjustment that was needed, when it should have been in place, and what the school did instead.
- How to answer it well
- Set out four things for each adjustment: the barrier (the policy or practice that disadvantaged your child), the specific adjustment needed, when it should have been made, and what actually happened. Be concrete - for example "a quiet space to regulate at break instead of detention, asked for in September, never provided". Schools can’t charge you for reasonable adjustments.
- Common mistake
- Saying only "the school didn’t help" - name the exact adjustment, the disadvantage it would have removed, and when it was due.
Show the wording on the form
Q30 on SEND4A, page 5 and Q22 on SEND4B, page 4
Failure to make reasonable adjustments: describe the disadvantage, the adjustment needed, when it should have been in place, and what was done instead
What to ask the tribunal to order (and what it can’t do)
If the tribunal agrees there was discrimination, it can order the school to put things right in practical ways. The one thing it can’t do is award money. Decide before you file whether practical remedies are what you want, or whether compensation matters enough to change your route.
Q38 (SEND4A) / Q27 (SEND4B) - What you would like the tribunal to order
- What they’re really asking
- The practical remedy you want if you win.
- How to answer it well
- Ask for things the tribunal can actually order: a written apology, staff training on disability discrimination, a change to a policy, removal of a stigmatising record, extra tuition to make up lost learning, a specific reasonable adjustment, or a way to make up for a missed trip or activity. Be specific and tie each request to the harm you described.
- Common mistake
- Asking for vague outcomes, or asking the tribunal to discipline a named member of staff, which it can’t do.
Show the wording on the form
Q38 on SEND4A, page 8 and Q27 on SEND4B, page 7
If the Tribunal decides in your favour, what would you like it to order?
The tribunal can’t award compensation
- What they’re really asking
- Whether you can get a payout from this route.
- How to answer it well
- The SEND Tribunal can’t order a school to pay compensation or damages - the remedy box on the form says so. If money for injury to feelings or financial loss is your main aim, that’s a county court claim (for non-school settings, or where you specifically need damages), where seeking legal advice first is sensible. For most parents the practical orders above are what they actually need.
- Common mistake
- Expecting a financial award from the SEND Tribunal and being surprised at the end - decide up front whether practical change or money is the goal.
Common questions
You must send the claim to the SEND Tribunal within 6 months of the discrimination taking place. The deadline is treated strictly, so work it out from the act you’re complaining about and send the form in well before the 6 months is up. Going through the school’s complaints procedure first doesn’t pause the clock.
Use SEND4A if you’re a parent or carer claiming for a child who hasn’t yet reached school leaving age. Use SEND4B if you’re over compulsory school age and claiming for yourself. School leaving age is the last Friday in June in the academic year the child turns 16.
No. The SEND Tribunal can’t award money or damages. It can order practical things such as an apology, staff training, a policy change, removal of a record, extra tuition, or a reasonable adjustment. If financial compensation is your main aim, that’s a county court claim, and you should get legal advice first.
Not if you want your child put back in school after a permanent exclusion. SEND4A and SEND4B specifically exclude reinstatement after a permanent exclusion, and you confirm this at the start of the form. A discrimination claim linked to a permanent exclusion uses SEND26A (parent) or SEND26B (young person) instead. SEND4 can still cover other discrimination, including fixed-term exclusions.
No formal diagnosis is required. What matters is that your child meets the Equality Act definition of disability: a physical or mental impairment with a substantial and long-term (12 months or more) effect on everyday activities. A diagnosis and professional reports help, so attach what you have, and show that the school knew or should have known about the disability.
There’s no fee to make a claim. Many parents value the practical orders - an apology, a policy change, staff training, a reasonable adjustment, extra tuition - more than money, because they change how the school treats the child going forward. A large share of claims are also resolved by agreement before any hearing once the school sees the evidence set out clearly.
Sources
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